Date Posted: May 14, 2014

NOAA’s Weather-Ready Nation is about building community resilience in the face of increasing vulnerability to extreme weather and water events. The People of Weather-Ready Nation is an interview series that sits down with some of the people responsible for building a Weather-Ready Nation. We recently talked to Logan Johnson, Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the San Francisco Bay Area office of the National Weather Service.

1. What does a Weather-Ready Nation mean to you?

To me it is pretty simple - a Weather-Ready Nation is a nation that's prepared for high impact weather and climate events at all levels of society. From the highest levels of government to the small communities that make up our nation, and all the people who live in them. It’s a nation that's aware of potential threats and takes steps to prepare for them. It’s about communicating these hazards in easy to understand and timely fashion to allow for the best decisions possible relating to weather and climate information.

2.How are you helping to build a Weather-Ready Nation?

As a Warning Coordination Meteorologist, I build a Weather-Ready Nation through communication and relationship-building. I work closely with the local decision makers in my area on ways to best reach and serve our large and diverse population with important weather and climate information. Our counties and cities develop and refine preparedness plans based on the work I do with them. This information allows them to be ready for the inevitable high impact events - and be prepared to respond and keep people safe.

3.What is the biggest challenge you see in making the nation ready, responsive, and resilient to extreme events?

The biggest challenges lie in communication, finding ways to accurately depict hazards and sharing information in a way that will allow for better decisions to be made. There is a fine line between hyping and preparing, and in today's society we must find the best methods to keep people aware. We live in a constant stream of information, and allowing the life-saving information to stand out through trusted and accurate channels can be difficult. Communication is an active two-way process. We are positioning ourselves to make tremendous strides, but there is always much work and collaboration to be done!

About:

I am the Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the San Francisco Bay Area office of the National Weather Service. This is a busy, diverse job in a very busy and diverse area. My roles include community, public, and media affairs and relations, as well as working closely with the emergency management and response partners in our area to facilitate planning for and response to weather and climate related events. I am active in promoting and representing the Weather-Ready Nation Ambassadors initiative, which I see as a vital connection between our national plans and local community action.